Disk retaining structure for a disk box

ABSTRACT

A disk retaining structure, disposed inside a disk box and adapted to hold a disk, comprises a flat base disposed on a central part of the disk box; a pair of finger strips integrally formed at a central part of the flat base and each of the finger strips can be bent relative to the flat base. Two retaining pieces are respectively disposed adjacent to two upper edges of two outside surfaces of the finger strips and each of them has a flange at a bottom edge of a free end thereof. Two supporting pieces are respectively disposed adjacent to two lower edges of the outside surfaces of the finger strips. A buckling structure is provided between the two finger strips. When the finger strips are pinched, a disk can be conveniently placed horizontally on the retaining structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a disk retaining structure for a disk box, which protects a disk from being deformed and the prevents the resilience of the retaining structure from being reduced and which allows easy insertion into and removal from the disk box.

2. Description of the Related Art

Optical disks have become an indispensable medium for storage of information. When not in use such disks are commonly stored in plastic boxes to protect the surfaces of the disks. This is despite the fact that they are generally impervious to reduced information playback through scratching, accumulation of dust, finger marks, etc. The boxes generally have a resilient center onto which the disk is secured by means of a hole in the center of the disk. The central hole has a diameter slightly smaller than a diameter of the center in an extended condition. An improved CD storage box has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,461, issued to the same applicant as the present invention. In the above-mentioned patent, referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 1A, a retaining structure 6 comprises of six resilient pieces 61 that each incline toward the center of the retaining structure 6. Two squeezing blocks 62 protrude upwardly from a through hole defined by the upper distal edges of the six resilient pieces 61. Lips 63 are provided at an outer periphery of the squeezing blocks 62. Referring to FIG. 2, to put a CD into the case, a user guides a CD 7 onto the column so that the central hole of the CD 7 aligns with the central column. Downward pressure on the CD 7 via the user's fingertips causes the center column to compress, and thus the center column is moved into a compressed state, and the periphery of the central hole of the CD 7 passes over the lips 63. Referring to FIG. 3, the removal of the CD 7 is done in the following way: The user compresses the center column until the distance across the lips 63 is smaller than the diameter of the central hole of the CD 7, and then the CD 7 is merely pulled away from the box.

However, the above-mentioned retaining structure 6 has a shortcoming in that when the CD 7 is raised by the upward force provided by the resilient pieces 61, a downward counterforce is created due to the existence of the lips 63. In the long run, this causes deformation of the CD 7 and might affect the digital information stored on the CD 7. Furthermore, after being put in and removed from the case, the upward resilient force from the resilient pieces 61 begins to reduce. In that case, the CD 7 will no longer be fixed securely in the case.

Referring to FIG. 4, a conventional CD storage box with a retaining structure was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,766,904,B2 issued to the same applicant as the present invention. In the above-mentioned patent, the lower supporting portion 161, the upper supporting portion 162 and the contact protrusions 18 ensure that the resilient supporting pieces 16 are more resilient for reducing deformation of the disk and improving the resilience of the supporting pieces 16. However, such a conventional retaining structure did not entirely eliminate deformation of the disk because there wasn't a height difference between the bottom edge of the lips 15 and the front end of the resilient supporting pieces 16. When the disk 7 was placed between the lips 15 and the resilient supporting pieces 16 as shown in FIG. 5, the resilient supporting pieces 16 would produce an upward force towards the disk 7. Because of the resilience, the lips 15 would produce a downward force upon the disk 7. In the case, the disk 7 would still become deformed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a retaining structure of a disk box for preserving a disk held on the retaining structure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a retaining structure of a disk box for preserving the supporting pieces of the retaining structure.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a retaining structure of a disk box for making the placing of a disk therein or removing the disk from the disk more convenient.

To achieve the above objects, one feature of the present invention provides a disk retaining structure disposed inside a disk box and adapted to hold a disk comprising:

a flat base disposed on a central part of the disk box;

a pair of finger strips integrally formed at a central part of the flat base and disposed opposite to each other and a predetermined space separates them;

a pair of security pillars integrally formed at the central part of the flat base and disposed adjacent to the finger strips and disposed opposite to each other and a predetermined space separates them;

two retaining pieces each respectively disposed adjacent to an upper edge of an outside surface of the finger strips and respectively extended outwardly from the upper edge of the outside surface of the finger strips, and the retaining pieces each having a flange at a bottom edge of a free end thereof;

two supporting pieces each respectively disposed adjacent to a lower edge of an outside surface of the finger strips and respectively extended outwardly from the lower edge of the outside surface of each of the finger strips and a front end of the supporting pieces curves inwardly so that two symmetric protruding holders are formed, and between the supporting pieces and the retaining pieces a predetermined vertical distance higher than a thickness of the disk is formed;

and a buckling structure provided between the two finger strips and having a male clasping and a female clasping, whereby the male clasping is clasped to the female clasping when the finger strips are pinched so that the retaining structure is convenient for placing the disk horizontally thereon.

To provide a further understanding of the invention, the following detailed description illustrates embodiments and examples of the invention, this detailed description being provided only for illustrating the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings included herein provide a further understanding of the invention. A brief introduction of the drawings is as follows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disk box according to the prior art.

FIG. 1A is an enlarged view of the retaining structure of the disk box of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the retaining structure of FIG. 1, with a disk fitted thereon.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the retaining structure of FIG. 1, as the disk is being removed.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of another retaining structure of a disk box according to the prior art.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the retaining structure of FIG. 4, with a disk fitted thereon.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a disk box according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the retaining structure of the disk box of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the retaining structure of the disk box according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the retaining structure of the disk box according to the present invention, with a disk fitted thereon.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the retaining structure of the disk box according to the present invention, with the disk being removed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention only, and not for purposes of limiting the same.

Referring to the drawings, and initially to FIG. 6, a retaining structure of a disk box is shown. The disk box 10 has a retaining structure 1 at a center thereof for holding an optical disk, such as a DVD, a CD, a VCD, or a CDR. Therefore, the disk can be placed in the disk box 10 through the retaining structure 1.

Referring to FIGS. 7 to 9, the retaining structure includes a flat base 11, a pair of finger strips 12, two retaining pieces 121, two supporting pieces 122, a buckling structure 13, and a pair of security pillars 14.

The flat base 11 is integrally disposed on a central part of the disk box 10. An upright annular flange 113 is protruded from the top surface of the flat base 11. A bridge component 111 is defined inside the upright annular flange 113. Two opening holes 112 are formed respectively on two opposite sides of the bridge component 111.

The symmetric finger strips 12 are formed integrally at a central part of the flat base 11. The top end of the finger strips 12 is flat. The finger strips 12 are placed inside the upright annular flange 113. The bottom edges of the finger strips 12 are connected to the two opposite sides of the bridge component 111. The finger strips 12 are disposed opposite to each other and a predetermined space separates them. Each of the finger strips 12 can be bent relative to the flat base 11 for pinching the finger strips 12 so that they close together.

Each of the retaining pieces 121 is respectively disposed adjacent to an upper edge of an outside surface of the finger strips 12 and is respectively extended outwardly from the upper edge of the outside surface of each of the finger strips 12 for holding the disk. Each of the retaining pieces 121 defines a flange 1211, as shown FIG. 9, at a bottom edge of a free end thereof. The flanges 1211 of the retaining pieces 121 are placed opposite to each other on the same periphery related to the same center of a circle respectively. Thereby a contacted surface between the flanges 1211 and the disk 2 becomes small so that the disk 2 can be easily rotated on the retaining structure 1.

Each of the supporting pieces 122 is respectively disposed adjacent to each lower edge of the outside surface of the finder strips 12. Each of the supporting pieces 122 is respectively extended outwardly from the lower edge of the outside surface of the finder strips 12. Each of the supporting pieces 122 is formed as a curved piece. The front ends of the supporting pieces 122 curve inwardly to form two symmetric protruding holders 1221 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Therefore, there are four protruding holders 1221 arranged two by two. The four protruding holders 1221 are placed on the same periphery relative to the same center of a circle and on the same plane, so that the user can place the disk 2 stably on the protruding holders 1221 and press the disk 2 down stably with the protruding holders 1221 as shown in FIG. 10. Alternatively, the disk 2 can be pushed out stably through the protruding holders 1221. In addition, the height difference between each of the protruding holders 1221 of the supporting pieces 122 and each of the flanges 1211 of the retaining pieces 121 is a predetermined vertical distance as shown in FIG. 9. The predetermined vertical distance between each of the protruding holders 1221 and each of the flanges 1211 is higher than a thickness of the disk 2. Therefore, when the disk 2 is placed between the retaining pieces 121 and the supporting pieces 122, the supporting pieces 122 only give a sustaining force upwardly to the disk 2. Furthermore, the disk 2 is also restricted only by the retaining pieces 121, so that the disk 2 cannot be deformed due to the upward and downward force between the retaining pieces 121 and the supporting pieces 122.

The buckling structure 13 is provided between the two finger strips 12. The buckling structure 13 has a male clasping 131 and a female clasping 132. The male clasping 131 and the female clasping 132 extend toward each other from two opposite inside surfaces of the finger strips 12. The male clasping 131 has a protruding piece 1311 and the female clasping 132 has a furrow 1321. The protruding piece 1311 corresponds to the furrow 1321 as shown in FIG. 9. When pinching the two finger strips 12 close to each other, the male clasping 131 clasps to the female clasping 132 through the protruding piece 1311 and the furrow 1321. Because a contacted surface between the protruding piece 1311 and the furrow 1321 is large, the male clasping 131 clasps with the female clasping 132 stably and the appearance of the buckling structure 13 when the disk is placed in the disk box is improved, as can be seen in FIG. 10. Therefore, the two finger strips 12 are clasped stably together through the buckling structure 13. At this time, the two front ends of the two retaining pieces 121 are separated by a distance, which is slightly shorter than the diameter of the central hole 21 of the disk 2. In this way, the retaining structure 1 presents a convenient method for placing the disk 2 on the retaining structure 1 and pressing the disk 2 down.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the security pillars 14 are integrally formed at the central part of the flat base 11. They are further disposed adjacent to the finger strips 12 and are opposite to each other with a predetermined space separating them. The security pillars 14 are slightly higher than each of the finger strips 12, as shown in FIG. 9. Thereby the disk box is prevented from being wrenched or pressed upon by an outside surface of the disk box that would cause the disk to be released from the retaining structure 1 and exposing it to the possibility of a thief stealing the disk. Because the security pillars 14 are slightly higher than each of the finger strips 12, the security pillars 14 prevent the disk 2 from easily sliding around on the disk retaining structure 1 and while still ensuring that the disk 2 can be easily removed from the disk retaining structure 1 as shown in FIG. 10. Each of the security pillars 14 has two symmetric arc surfaces 141 on an outside wall thereof. Each of the arc surfaces 141 touch a periphery of a central hole of the disk for firming the disk.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the two finger strips 12 are formed through injection molding, the male clasping 131 and the female clasping 132, which are connected between the two finger strips 12, clasp together. To put the disk 2 in the disk box 10, the central hole 21 of the disk 2 must firstly be fit on the front end edge of the two retaining pieces 121 of the two finger strips 12. Secondly, the disk 2 must be gently pushed downward so that a bottom surface of the disk 2 pushes the four protruding holders 1221 causing the male clasping 131 to be released from the female clasping 132. At this time, the disk 2 moves down along the arc surfaces 141 of the security pillars 14 and is retained between the retaining pieces 121 and the supporting pieces 122. Therefore, the disk 2 is retained stably on the retaining structure 1 by the restriction of the retaining pieces 121 as shown in FIG. 9.

As shown in FIG. 10, to remove the disk 2 out of the retaining structure 1, a user uses two fingers to pinch the finger strips 12 so that the male clasping 131 clasps to the female clasping 132. At this time, the two front ends of the two retaining pieces 121 are separated by a distance, which is shorter slightly than the diameter of the central hole 21 of the disk 2, so that the two retaining pieces 121 do not hold against a top surface of the disk 2 again. Next, the disk 2 is pushed stably upward by the protruding holders 1221, so that the disk 2 could be removed easily.

Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made by way of example only and that numerous changes in the detailed construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed. 

1. A disk retaining structure disposed inside a disk box and adapted to hold a disk, comprising: A flat base disposed on a central part of the disk box; A pair of finger strips integrally formed at a central part of the flat base and disposed opposite to each other with a predetermined space separating them; A pair of security pillars integrally formed at the central part of the flat base and disposed adjacent to the finger strips and opposite to each other with a predetermined space separating them; Two retaining pieces each respectively disposed adjacent to an upper edge of an outside surface of the finger strips and respectively extended outwardly from an upper edge of the outside surface of the finger strips and the retaining pieces each having a flange at a bottom edge of a free end thereof; Two supporting pieces each respectively disposed adjacent to a lower edge of the outside surface of the finger strips and respectively extends outwardly from the lower edge of the outside surface of the finger strips and a front end of the supporting piece curves inwardly so that two symmetric protruding holders are formed between the supporting pieces and the retaining pieces with a predetermined vertical distance higher than a thickness of the disk; and A buckling structure provided between the two finger strips and having a male clasping and a female clasping, whereby the male clasping clasps to the female clasping when the finger strips are pinched so that it is convenient for the disk to be placed horizontally on the retaining structure.
 2. The disk retaining structure according to claim 1, wherein each of the finger strips can be bent relative to the flat base, whereby the male clasping clasps to the female clasping when the finger strips are pinched to place the disk horizontally on the disk retaining structure or for removing the disk from the disk retaining structure.
 3. The disk retaining structure according to claim 1, wherein each security pillar has two symmetric arc surfaces on an outside wall thereof and the arc surfaces touch a periphery of a central hole of the disk for securing the disk and the security pillars are higher than the finger strips for prevent the disk from being stolen and for preventing the disk sliding around on the disk retaining structure and to allow easy removal of the disk from the disk retaining structure. 